Update on International Entries in Instructables Contests

We have greatly expanded the list of eligible countries that can participate in our contests!! To find all the eligible countries see below (Eligibility as of 11/16/2015). A small percentage of our contests will be limited to 14 countries (Limited Contests) so make sure to check the rules before entering.

Contests rules will not retroactively be changed.

Eligibility as of 11/16/2015
THE CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO NATURAL PERSONS WHO, AT THE TIME OF ENTRY, ARE REGISTERED MEMBERS OF THE SITE, WHO ARE AT LEAST THIRTEEN (13) YEARS OLD (FIFTEEN [15] YEARS OLD FOR RESIDENTS OF NORWAY AND EIGHTEEN [18] YEARS OLD FOR RESIDENTS OF GERMANY), AND NOT RESIDENTS OF ANY COUNTRY SUBJECT TO A US TRADE EMBARGO (AS OF APRIL 2014 NORTH KOREA, SYRIA, SUDAN, CUBA AND IRAN) AS WELL AS: BRAZIL, ITALY, ARGENTINA, TURKEY, ROMANIA, POLAND, OR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA.

UPDATE 7/25/2012:
Colombia, Denmark, Germany, India, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland are now eligible for all contests! We've updated the rules to make this clear. More countries coming as fast as we can. --Christy

Broadly, there are two types of contests: games of skill and games of chance. Most of our contests are games of skill because they are judged, but we have occasionally run games of chance (random winner in a contest, random commenter wins a prize, etc..). Both types are regulated, sometimes stringently, across the world.

As an independent entity, we may have been violating the contest and gaming laws in every country on the planet except the US. While ignorance of the law isn't an acceptable reason to violate it, I did not spend the time to understand and comply with every country's contest laws. Without locations across the world, the potential for enforcement of laws I didn't know about was low.

We are now part of an international company, and the potential for enforcement is real.

Complying with laws is not a drag! It's what sustainable businesses that expect to be around for a long time do!

If you are upset about this, before you complain here, please write or call your representative, member of parliament, or dictator and ask them to simplify contest law in your country. The easier to understand your country's contest laws, the faster we can open our contests to you, and comply with your country's laws. Remember, obeying the law is what good websites do!

Autodesk is not trying to destroy the Instructables community by reducing the number of entrants to our contests; in fact, they're very concerned about the issue. We are trying to make sure we obey all the laws of all the countries where we operate. We are simultaneously working to understand the laws of more countries so we can legally run contests in more areas.

The terms and conditions of our contests are now in full compliance with the requirements of the US and Canada, except Quebec. Doing so required many hours of me talking to lawyers, and very large costs.

I have sorted the countries we will work on next by where our traffic comes from, and where past winners and entrants have come from. For reference:

Top 10 Countries by traffic:
US - open
UK - open
Canada - open (minus Quebec)
Australia - open
India - open
Germany - open
Philippines
Brazil
Mexico
France

Top 10 Countries by winners and entrants:
US - open
Canada - open
UK - open
Australia - open
Netherlands - open
Germany - open
New Zealand - open
Argentina
Colombia - open
India - open

The rules for games of skill and games of chance are drastically different. I foresee a situation where there are countries in which we can run one type of contest, but not the other.

Since we don't collect your country of residence during registration, our method of determining who is eligible is based on where a winner wants us to ship a prize.

Obeying laws is not a drag, but this is a tricky situation. I'll concede that you might view this as a bait and switch: we should have fully understood the contest laws of any country where we wanted to encourage DIY through our contests before allowing entrants from those countries. Instead, we allowed everyone, and now have to pause until I can talk to more lawyers. For that I apologize. Fixing this is one of our top priorities. Even yesterday, I discussed how to get the UK and Australia added to the approved list, and we'll work from there.

Hey, I´m from Argentina. But I have older relatives living in Paraguay. I would like to know if it would be possible for me to submit my proyect, and in the slight chance I win, have the package delivered to my relatives who live in an elegible country.

Hi. I'am Brazilian and would love to parcipate in your contests. I understand your reasons, but it may be helpfull to understand brazilian laws only forbiden "chances games" (in portuguese "jogos de azar", with a literal translation to "games of bad-luck".If you care to see, the law can be found in a government official site at https://www.jusbrasil.com.br/topicos/11737132/arti...

We like to include everyone we can! Unfortunately local laws about contests in the countries listed above prevent us from doing so. If you are associated with any mailing address eligible for the contests, we would love to see your entries!

About This Topic

Bio:Eric J. Wilhelm is the founder of Instructables. He has a Ph.D. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering. Eric believes in making technology accessible through understanding, and strives to inspire others ...read more »